I recently had a new front door installed and the installer also installed a new doorknob handleset (it's a Schlage F60 V CAM 619 ACC).
The new door is weather and impact resistant so it opens out and has some weather stripping to seal it firmly.
Detailed steps to reproduce my problem:
- Stand outside with door properly closed and the deadbolt locked
- Depress the thumb piece fully
At this point, the door jumps as if it's about to swing open toward you, makes a thud, and is only stopped by the deadbolt being contained within its strike plate. The latchbolt is no longer contained within its strike plate.
It seems to me that a storm/impact should not be prone to movements like this. I'm thinking that debris could hit the thumb piece during a storm and compromise the seal (you never know).
We've all probably seen and used doors like this. My question is whether this is correct or proper? Should I have the installer fix this? Should it simply be a matter of moving back the deadbolt's strike plate (towards the interior) to prevent the wiggle room after the thumb piece is depressed?
Best Answer
There is always a little difference where the strike catches and the deadbolt hits the edge of the keeper. If there wasn't, the deadbolt would be difficult to latch. The weatherstripping needs to be compressed when the latch sets into the strike allowing the room needed to let the deadbolt engage easily. When the latch is depressed, and the door releases the little bit that it does, the weatherstripping should still be compressed enough to do its job.
FWIW, the odds of a limb hitting the thumb latch and creating a problem by doing so is very improbable, in my opinion.